Homeless Men Don't Wear Bow Ties
by TeaSipper
Summary: Kathrine Miller finds herself in a world of trouble when an alien crash-lands on her college campus. Who is this mysterious man? Will Earth be safe? Will she EVER be on time for her Astronomy lecture? Tune in to find out!
1. Crashing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, or any other copyrighted material mentioned.**

**Thank you. Enjoy.**

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

This was not good.

In fact, you could say this whole situation was a bit extremely, very, very, _incredibly_ not good. Considering he had planned on popping over to Barcelona (not the noseless-dog one, mind you), and ended up careening though a massive and very unfriendly vortex, the Doctor couldn't help but be just a teeny tiny bit disappointed.

The unhappy Time Lord raked his hands through his hair, clutching at his head in frustration as the TARDIS ricocheted off the walls of the time vortex. Every alarm was sounding, the console glowing a bright, foreboding red. Sparks were flying from every direction- generally not a good sign, seeing as it indicated a large number of things that were going very inexplicably wrong. Suddenly, the TARDIS crashed into the time vortex again, sending the Doctor flying backwards. He scrambled to his feet and gripped the controls. Every button, switch, and dial he tried did nothing to stop his ship's sporadic movements.

"Come on, old girl," the Doctor looked pleadingly towards the flashing center column "tell me what's wrong. Tell me-"

Another crash; this time, sending the Doctor hurtling toward the front door. The _open_ front door.


	2. Quantum Leech

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Kathrine Miller rolled over to slam the snooze button on her alarm clock for the third time that morning but, unfortunately for her (but quite fortunately for her maintaining her daily schedule), she misjudged the width of her bed and went tumbling to the floor. She swore loudly, waking her room-mate.

"Hey!" a strong Boston accent shot out from across the dorm room "just because you have to wake up at God-knows-when in the morning doesn't mean the rest of us have to." Linda grumbled and yanked the covers over her head. Kathrine made a mental note to keep all further expletives in her head.

Until... "Shit!" 5:45. She was going to be late for her Chemistry lecture _again_. Launching into crisis-mode, she roughly pulled a hoodie over her pajamas, nearly choking on the mouthwash that was replacing her toothbrush for the morning. Textbook, I.D., notebook, and pencil in hand, Kathrine waded her way out of the messy dorm room while pulling on her shoes.

She raced down the empty walkway that would lead her to the Science Hall. Making a quick turn, she glanced at the clock tower. _Yes! 5:55. I'll definitely make it by six._

And she would have- really, she would- if it hadn't been for the homeless man sprawled out in front of the library. Though, she wasn't sure most homeless people wore bow-ties. She battled with her conscience for a bit, half intent on leaving him there in favor of being on-schedule for the first time this month, but lost in the end.

"Uhm... sir?" Her voice came out in a timid squeak. She cleared her throat, mentally cursing herself as the clock struck six. "Sir?"

A low groan answered her. The homeless man stirred.

_Oh God. He's not well. What if it's pneumonia? What is he's hurt?_

Kathrine's frantic thoughts were cut off by a sharp intake of breath, followed by a loud "Whooo! Boy, was that a ride!" The man sat upright in a flash. "Now, what happened? Bumpy time vortex. Barcelona. Beep! Beep! Lost the TARDIS." His eyes widened, he began shaking. Kathrine was at a loss. Who on Earth was this guy? _Barcelona? Time vortex? And what in the big, swirly universe is a TARDIS?_

The well-dressed homeless man let out a sound of what can only be described as complete and utter defeat. "I've lost the TARDIS..."

Kathrine wanted to cry. She was not prepared for this. Not only was she convinced this man was a raving lunatic, she was sure beyond a doubt that there was no way she could help him.

Completely ignoring the girl's internal thought-process, he stood up, spun around, and seemed to magically regain his composure. "You, pajama girl." He strode over to her on his impossibly long legs. "I seem to be in a liiittle bit of a pinch. You see, I'm missing my box. My big, blue phone box. Happen to see one around here?"

"No. No, sir. Not that I can recall."

He mumbled "eh, was worth a shot," then turned back the the now thoroughly confused college student. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

Surprised (not for the first time that morning), Kathrine shook the Doctor's hand. "Oh! What do you teach?"

"Just the Do- I beg your pardon?" The Doctor quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, uh. Sorry. It's just that any 'doctors' on campus tend to be professors."

Realization dawned on the Doctor's face. "Oooh, a university! I went to Uni once. Not like this, mind you. It was more... on Pluto. But I digress. Blue box." He snapped his fingers and began pacing down the walkway. "Can't be far away. Well, actually, it could be millions and trillions of years away or on another planet." a brief, uncomfortable pause "But I prefer to think it isn't, don't you?"

Kathrine found herself lamely nodding her head.

"Right. Good. Now," he pulled an odd-looking little tool out of the pocket of his tweed jacket "just need to scan for an artron energy signature." The tool whirred, a bright green light emanating from the tip.

A minute passed. Kathrine's mood was far from improved as the Doctor's face grew more and more concerned. "What is it?" she managed to choke out.

The Doctor stared at the tool in his hands. "Looks like you've got leeches."

"Leeches?"

"Yup. Quite a lot of them, too. They're sort of jamming the signal on my sonic screwdriver. Can't detect artron with these buggers sucking up all the energy in sight." The Doctor slapped the screwdriver against his palm a few times and glared at it.

Kathrine blinked. "Uhm... Doctor," she felt odd using the term, considering the battered state the man was in "I don't really follow. Do you mean to say that there are leeches on campus that... _eat_ energy directly, rather than obtaining it from, you know, blood?"

The Doctor spun on his heel to face her. "Oh, no! These aren't your run-of-the-mill hematophages; they latch onto a life form or another energy source and quite literally suck the energy straight out of them." He leaned in towards Kathrine and began muttering as he inspected her left arm "Symptoms include sleepiness, accelerated aging, somewhat unsightly partially-invisible sores-" the Doctor pinched at the air above her arm and lifted his hand toward his face. Kathrine watched, disgusted, as the previously invisible leech phased into view in the Doctor's hand. "This one's been snacking on you for at least a month."

"Is that why I've been sleeping through Astronomy all month?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to chalk that up to general laziness." the Doctor grinned, but quickly sobered as the severity of the situation hit him. "I've never seen an infestation like this. At this rate, they'll flood every nook and crevice, sucking quanta out from under our noses. They'll keep eating and multiplying 'til the whole world- buildings, plants, people- 'til all of it's nothing but a dried-out husk."

Kathrine took a moment during the Doctor's monologue to regroup. _Invisible quantivorous leeches? Sonic screwdriver?_ This all sounded like those cheesy sci-fi shows she used to watch when she was little. All that was missing now was a space ship. "I need to lie down." she muttered before collapsing into an awkward heap at the Doctor's feet.

**And with that, I conclude my introduction! As is stated in my profile, I am more than happy to hear from readers about possible characters or plot devices you want to see in this story. It gives me inspiration! And I love catering to an audience, so send requests if you have them, and critique is always welcome.**


	3. Tea Time

**Alright! Moving on. Thank you, Paradoxical Memories and Dragoneisha, for your lovely reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted characters, objects, or storylines.**

Kathrine awoke, groggy and slightly sore, to the sound of boisterous laughter. She slowly got up to keep the swimming in her head to a minimum and looked around. The only thing that registered in her clouded mind were the shelves upon shelves of books that lined the walls.

"Ha ha!" There was that laughter again. "Oh, no. That is just too..." The Doctor, alerted by Kathrine's stirrings, looked away from his book and grinned at her. "Hello again!" He rushed over to her and scanned her with his sonic screwdriver. "Looks like everything's functional. Oh, you wouldn't believe the great books in here!"

Kathrine gave a weary glance at the book he held in his hands. "Doctor, that's a book on the French Revolution."

The Doctor, for lack of a better term, giggled "Yes! And they've got it all wrong. You humans, I swear." He chuckled a bit more, seemingly lost in thought. Then, "Right. Now that you're back, we've a planet to save." Suddenly, the Doctor grabbed her by the arm and drug her out of the library.

What followed was a good deal of running (which, in all honesty, Kathrine was not in proper shape for). Every minute or so, the Doctor would pause in front of a building, consider it for a moment, shake his head and continue running.

Soon enough, Kathrine became more than a little fed up. "Alright, Doctor, what exactly are we looking for?"

"We need an energy source- a _big_ one- to lure our leechy friends in."

She stopped short, causing the Doctor to skid to a halt. "Football." she said, smirking.

"Look, I love a game as much as anyone else, but we have a bit of a crisis here!" he huffed.

Kathrine shook her head. "No, no. The 'Big Game' tonight. It's a huge deal on campus. Imagine every student gathered in a big stadium surrounded by huge, bright lights." She rolled her eyes "I can't believe I'm saying this; but these alien... quantum leechy-things won't be able to resist a feast like that."

The Doctor clapped his hands together "Brilliant! Where's the field?"

She smiled. Now it was her turn to drag him along.

Upon arriving at the field, the Doctor began running around, sonicking the massive light fixtures that surrounded the stadium. He then hurried up into the stands and turned his attention toward the speakers. "That ought to do it!" He turned to Kathrine, beaming. "I've maximized the output on every bit of equipment in this stadium. These leeches aren't exactly good at rationing their energy supply. They'll keep absorbing until they burst; which is exactly what we need to happen!"

Kathrine nodded, coming to terms with this outlandish situation, while the Doctor rambled on excitedly. "Right, so now we just wait until the game starts." She checked her watch. "Should take about... three hours."

The Doctor stopped short, a horrified look claiming his features. "Three hours?" he balked "What on Raxacoricofallapatorius are we supposed to do for _three hours?_"

"Uhm..." Kathrine stammered, somewhat floored by the concept of entertaining this madman. Deciding that she couldn't properly take on a task of this caliber, she opted for her usual fall-back plan. "Who's up for tea?"

Much to her surprise, the Doctor was more than willing to come to her dorm room for tea. _'I really could go for some chamomile. Do you have any bananas?' _he'd said as she lead him up the stairs into her room.

_Now for the hard part._ Kathrine timidly tapped on the door. A curly-haired, busty woman wearing a tight yellow t-shirt yanked the door open, grinning at them.

"Katie!" she chirped, pulling her room-mate into a hug. Then, her attention was quickly drawn to the tall, smiling, undeniably attractive, bow-tied man standing before her. "Well, hello there, handsome." She arched an eyebrow and smirked.

"Doctor, this is Lisa. Lisa, Doctor." Kathrine sighed, knowing what was coming next.

Lisa gasped dramatically. "Oh, a doctor? Katie, you shouldn't have." She winked at the Doctor, causing him to blush and glance down at his shoes. She moved closer, inches away from his rapidly reddening face.

"Down, Lisa." Kathrine put a restraining hand on her friend's shoulder, snickering lightly.

Lisa laughed and shoved Kathrine playfully. "Oh, come on. You finally land a cute doctor and you won't even share? Or are you still holding out for your space-man?" The girls laughed harder.

"Er..." The Doctor cleared his throat, still blushing. "If you don't mind, ladies, I could really do with a cup of tea. Bit of a rough day."

Lisa's jaw dropped. "He's _British!_" she whispered, squeezing Kathrine's arm.

"Alright, alright. That's enough." Kathrine led the Doctor and Lisa into the brightly-lit dorm room. She sifted through an old, battered cupboard and pulled out a box of chamomile, a hot pot, and several mismatched mugs. The others sat quietly while she bustled around the room, preparing the tea and searching for appropriate snacks. Minutes later, the trio was seated with a mug of tea and a banana each.

"So, Katie," Lisa broke the silence "how was Astronomy?"

Kathrine grumbled, running a hand through her short, dull brown hair. "No idea."

Lisa sighed. "Between missing Astronomy and arguing with your Physics professor, I feel like you might not graduate this year," she chuckled "and then you can be on the six-year plan, like me!"

"It's not my fault Professor Hughes doesn't understand that thinking of time in a linear perspective is a primitive an limited view that prevents us from advanci-"

"Woah, Mr. Spock. Spare us the time-travel lecture. You drove off my last boyfriend with that one." Lisa interjected.

"No, no. I'm completely interested. Enthralled, engrossed. Though I can't blame your boyfriend, Lisa. Most of my companions get a bit bored with my rambling." the Doctor carried on as he peeled his banana. "It's always 'cut the talking and bring on the adventure!' And I like a good adventure, mind you. I've had loads of them. The danger's the fun part, but still I think it's highly important to educate-"

Lisa groaned. "Oh, Lord, make it stop!" She slammed her head against her desk in mock-anguish. "The illusion is shattered."

The Doctor furrowed his brow and sipped at his tea. "The illusion?"

Kathrine laughed. "She thought you were hot until about ten seconds ago."

"The accent's great and all, but you're obviously a geek like Katie."

The younger geek laughed, while the Doctor managed to look offended, befuddled, and slightly amused. "Come on, Doctor, it's time to get to the game." Kathrine stood and began clearing away the now empty mugs. The Doctor stood to join her.

"Wait!" Lisa shouted as they headed out the door. "There is no way-no_ stinkin' way_- I am letting my little Katie go to her first actual, honest-to-God, American, football game without me as a witness." With that decided, she grabbed an atrocious maroon hat and dashed out the door behind them.

**And there's another chapter! I don't like the whole leech bit as much as I'd thought I would, so expect that to wrap up quickly. And I have plenty of different ways this story could go, so let me know if there's any particular direction you're hoping for!**


	4. Fracture

**Hello again! Sorry for the sporadic updates. I'm building some furniture for my apartment and it's taking a lot of my time.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

The football game was, interesting, to say the least. Kathrine was honestly quite bored until halftime, when the entire stadium lit up like a supernova and the speakers began blaring the university's fight song, inexplicably in German and backed by a full orchestra and a handful of tubas. What followed was possibly one of the most disgusting things she or Lisa had ever seen. Thousands upon thousands of previously invisible, bright green blobs began dropping off every surface and person before coating the ground in a thick layer of wriggling leeches. Hundreds of horrified students and faculty ran from the scene...

Leaving Kathrine, Lisa, and the Doctor to clean up the mess.

"So, you're just going to kill them?" Lisa asked, pushing a broom along the football field. "That's not very _you_, Doctor."

"Oh, no. They're just stunned! Once the TARDIS turns up I'll-" The Doctor stopped short. "Wait, what do you mean; not very me?"

"Katie! Check section B again, will you? I think I just saw something squirming."

"On it!" Kathrine called from the stands.

"Oi!" the Doctor yelped indignantly, not at all happy with being ignored. "How do you know me?"

Lisa rolled her eyes and gripped the Doctor's arm, pulling him further away from Kathrine; out of hearing distance. "You're honestly telling me you don't remember?" The Doctor merely replied with silence and a furrowed brow, drawing an exasperated sigh from the curly-haired woman. "Look, I know you've got a new face and all, but we've met before. Like, five times." Her face grew more and more concerned as the Doctor continued to look confused. "I guess it makes sense," she commented "you were always a bit preoccupied. Saving the universe and all that."

The Time Lord quirked en eyebrow as he looked her over. Curly brown hair, average height, curvy, and surprisingly unremarkable. At least, unremarkable in the sense that she was easy to forget when the universe was at stake. He could, however, vaguely remember her maroon jester's cap, which sort of . "I do recall that hat. As far as headgear goes, I have to say it's quite impressive. More fond of a fez, myself, but jester's caps can be pretty cool, too."

Lisa grinned, giggling. "Thanks, Katie made it."

The aforementioned girl's head popped up from behind a row of seats upon hearing her name. "I think that's the last of them!" she called, running up to them with a bag of leeches in her hand. She smiled and looked between the Doctor and her room mate. "So, aliens and the like, yeah? I think I can get used to it."

The trio walked away from the feild, the Doctor constantly scanning the area with his sonic screwdriver for signs of his TARDIS.

"There should be a slight," the Doctor paused to find the right word "shifting in temporal energy where the TARDIS has or is about to land. Only lasts a few minutes, so we have to catch her at the right time." Suddenly, he flicked a button on his screwdriver and frowned at it. "Huh."

Kathrine turned a curious gaze towards him. "What is it?" She couldn't help but be excited by all of his talk about temporal energy and time in general, having been obsessed with the properties of time and quantum mechanics it for most of her life.

"Well, it seems the usual wibbly-wobbly nature of things is a bit... zig-zaggy here- it's just the wrong shape. I've never seen time acting so stiff. No wonder the TARDIS crashed when we passed by." And worse yet, he refrained from telling them, it was getting worse by the second. Time was grinding against itself, like chunks of ice in a swiftly moving river.

Lisa gave him a knowing look. She sighed, closing her eyes and dropping her head, before looking back up with a more determined look in her eyes. "That'd be the fracture." She grabbed Kathrine's hand, pulling her towards the dorms. "Follow us."

**Alright, this was a short chapter. I apologize. I was going to add more, but I felt like updating in a timely fashion was most important at the moment. I promise the next chapter is going to be _very_ exciting, so just hold on for a bit longer!**

**So, what do you guys think of Lisa? I thought it'd be good to give her a bit more of a proper introduction, as I hope to continue writing her as an important character.**

**As usual, just let me know if there's any direction you'd like this story to go. I'm basically making this up as I go along (though I developed the characters thoroughly). So don't be shy in telling me what you want to read!**


	5. 1893

**OK! One more chapter up. Thanks, LeilaTheGalaxyDefender, for the review!**

**Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Doctor Who.**

Once in the dorm room, Lisa began rummaging through a stack of boxes in the closet. She was pulling out some of the strangest items; a water pistol (which actually shot lasers, but what they don't know won't hurt them), several lengths of wire in all colors and sizes, what appeared to be a bike helmet covered in tubes and switches, and a bust of Sir Isaac Newton. She grumbled in frustration before plunging her hand toward the bottom of the box, fishing it around a bit, and grabbing some sort of giant watch.

The Doctor's eyes widened considerably as he did a double-take. "Where did _you_ get a vortex manipulator?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased. Suddenly, her grin was replaced by a solemn expression. "I've been monitoring this temporal fracture for the last five years. Things and..." the Doctor couldn't help but notice the glance she gave Kathrine "people have been falling through it to one of two places."

Now, the Doctor was terribly interested in the temporal fracture, but he needed to learn a bit more about this Time Agent in hiding. In a poor attempt to appear nonchalant, he began fiddling with some of the items on Kathrine's desk, seeming to favor a dark red glass ball. He turned it over in his hand, contemplating it and muttering to himself. "So you- a Time Agent, I presume- have been looking into this fracture, cleaning up any messes or anomalies that surface because of it." He turned to her, holding out the glass orb. "But that doesn't explain this."

Kathrine, thoroughly confused at that moment, gave the Doctor a weary look. "That's just a paperweight. I bought it down town a few years ago."

"Yes! Just an average, slightly ugly paperweight. Nothing particularly special... but!" He spun around to face Kathrine. "I remember it. I distinctly remember seeing _this_ ball sitting on _this_ exact desk several times in my life. But I don't remember you" he poked a finger in Lisa's face "and I certainly don't remember you." he gestured at Kathrine in the same manner, staring her in the eye intently.

Lisa began edging toward her gun. This detail was not missed by the Doctor. "Don't even think about it." he thrust a hand in her direction while keeping his eyes glued to Kathrine. "Now," he narrowed his eyes "what are you trying to hide?"

"Hide?" Kathrine balked. "What would I have to hide? I'm not even-"

The Time Lord picked up her wrist, sonicking her watch. The plain, lanky girl with short hair quickly phased away, revealing a plain, lanky girl with short green hair and blue, scaly skin and huge black eyes. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed. "Now, what is a Time Agent doing with such a high-level perception filter? Hmmm?" His attention once again turned toward Lisa, who gave him a sheepish look.

"She fell through. I couldn't just leave her like that, and travel to the Teledrium quadrant is prohibited." she explained. "Katie didn't even know who she was when she got here."

Said shell-shocked alien looked between the two. "I'm blue..." she stated oh-so intelligently. She turned to the Doctor. "Why am I blue?"

"Yes, right. Big shock for you." he took her watch and held it up for her to see. "This is a perception filter. It tricks people, including you, into only seeing what whoever programmed the filter wants you to see. It also makes the wearer easy to forget, which explains my apparent memory lapse. Your friend Lisa has been using this to hide an alien."

Kathrine just stared at him.

"You're the alien."

"Yeah. I gathered that, thanks." she replied sarcastically.

Without warning, the Doctor was inches away from her face. "But look at you," he breathed "you're beautiful." There was a pause, in which Kathrine felt exceedingly awkward. "Erm... not like that." he corrected. "I mean, I'm not saying you aren't, but I meant I've never seen anything like you! Lisa's right, traveling to the Teledrium quadrant or, more specifically, the planet Omnilin- that's where you're from- is a bit... iffy on the legal scale. It's also extremely difficult. Believe me, I've tried." This earned a disapproving look from the Time Agent in the corner of the room. "But we can go over this later! Lisa, you said that whatever falls through the fracture lands in one of two places." He strode over to her on his impossibly long legs. "You see, I've lost a box. A big, lovely, blue box and I need your help getting it back."

Lisa just grinned, grabbed the Doctor and Kathrine, and punched a button on her vortex manipulator.

The trio landed, all feeling a bit woozy from their jump through time, to find themselves on a small island far off the northeast coast of America.

"Welcome to February 19, 1893. This is the exact spot where the fracture lets out, both in this year and exactly 116 years later. Your TARDIS should be somewhere around here." Lisa scanned the area. "There!" she pointed to a blue police box.

It was sitting aboard the SS Naronic. "Well, that's just dandy. February 19, 1893, the day the SS Naronic goes missing. Nothing left but two empty lifeboats and a few bottled messages." The Doctor sighed for what must have been the twentieth time that day. "And my TARDIS is on board."

**So, there you have it! I hope that was a good enough plot twist. I'm hoping to make the next couple of chapters more reminiscent of an actual episode of Doctor Who. I get so tired of reading rewrites of existing episodes, so I'm planning on throwing in original adventures such as this one.**


	6. Sontar-ha!

**Hi! Sorry for the agonizingly long break. I had so much trouble writing this chapter. I can't promise that I'll be posting new chapters very often without any creative input from my readers. (and, as much as that sounds like begging, it really isn't.)**

The Doctor, Lisa, and Kathrine (now again wearing her perception filter) landed exactly two seconds after their initial landing, and about one and a quarter nauts to the left.

"Alright, let's get your TARDIS and get out of here!" Lisa practically dragged the two toward the blue police box.

"What's the hurry, Lisa?" the Doctor stopped the trio short of the TARDIS's doors, a mischievous grin on his face. "The fracture lets out here, so I'm sure you've been here loads of times! Now, my only question is: What is so scary, so awful, that a seasoned Time Agent like yourself is running away from it?"

As if to answer his question, a huge, dark _something_ began to ascend from the depths, not far from the Naronic. Kathrine watched in horror as a Sontaran ship pushed its way into the air. It was large, round, dark, and on-the-whole-much-more-menacing-than-it-ought-to-b e.

Needless to say, the Doctor wasn't too pleased with the sudden appearance of the ship. However, he was far more receptive of the idea than poor Kathrine, who was shaking like a leaf and pointing towards the ship with unmasked terror and confusion.

"But it's a space-ship!" she gasped. "It's a space-ship and it's under water and it's 1893!"

"Yes, and you're an alien with blue skin. We don't have time for this." the Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the ship in hopes of finding a transmission signal.

"Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!" a myriad of voices boomed over the ocean, causing the Naronic's occupants to run about in panicked chaos.

"Well, that's just lovely. They're doing the battle chant-y thing." He rushed into the TARDIS and pulled down a screen, giving it a quick once-over with his sonic screwdriver. A tan, bald sort of thing with no neck appeared on the screen. "Hello there! Lovely ship you've got, Captain, but we have just a _teensy tiny _problem. You see, there's a fracture in the space-time continuum that's dumped you here."

"This is Rutan trickery! These half forms have obviously allied themselves with the host! We will take this primitive vessel and its occupants. Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-"

The Doctor flicked off the screen and turned toward the two girls. "Weeeelllll, at least we've solved the mystery of the SS Naronic." He spun around and began fiddling with the TARDIS's controls.

Lisa placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Doctor, there's nothing you can do. I've seen this played out a hundred times. There's no way to send something back through the fracture, and there's no way to get the Naronic out of harm's way. Let's just get out of here."

The Doctor turned to look at her, fiery determination in his eyes. "I've got to try."

**Sorry for the short chapter! Especially after such a long wait! I had to get _something_ out or I wouldn't be able to live with myself. So there you have it; Sontarans. As always, I'm very receptive to ideas and feedback, so don't be shy!**


	7. Pop!

**Thanks for the reviews! Let's get this show on the road!**

A very disgruntled Lisa and Kathrine were stuck below deck with the rest of the crew while the Doctor tried to reason with the Sontarans; a task that even Kathrine realized was completely impossible.

"If one of these sailors so much as _looks_ at me again I swear." Lisa grumbled, shoving her way past the crowd of men toward her best friend.

"Well, I mean, we're in next-to-nothing by 1893 standards." Kathrine offered "We didn't exactly get time to change."

"Yeah, well, still." The Time Agent sent a glare at a group of chortling men in the corner.

"How do you reckon the Doctor's doing?"

Not well at all. It seems that this particular group of Sontarans, just like the rest of their species, did not like being told that they couldn't just blow something up. This led the Doctor into a rather tricky situation. See, the Naronic was in the Pacific, whereas he... well...

"Look, I know that this is a bit of a confusing situation for you. Believe me, even I'm a bit at a loss, and that just doesn't happen. Weeellllll when I say 'doesn't happen-'"

"Silence!" one clone barked at the Doctor, who really didn't know how things had gotten so out of hand. One moment he was talking with the Sontaran scout ship's commander, and the next he was chained up on their ship with a helpless crowd of people below.

One crowd of helpless people, and two girls who were getting tired of waiting. Said girls were heading straight towards the TARDIS, hoping to find the Doctor on board. To Kathrine's surprise and Lisa's chagrin, the Doctor was nowhere in sight. The TARDIS, however, seemed pretty happy to see them, and was humming quite loudly. Kathrine took a step toward the center console, hoping to find a way to contact the Sontarans again.

There was a loud _pop!_ and it seemed as though the whole universe blinked for a moment. Honestly, it was a bit underwhelming considering the gravity of the situation.

Once the girls exited through that blue door, they found themselves staring at the coast of modern Manhattan from the deck of a Victorian ship. The Sontaran shuttle was nowhere to be found, and those who had ventured up to the deck were screaming yet again as an airplane flew past them.

Lisa and Kathrine shared a look before backing up into the TARDIS once more.

"What the _hell_ what that!?" Lisa grabbed Kathrine by the shoulders. "I know you're all pan-dimensional and all, but how on earth did that happen?"

"P-pan-dimensional?" Kathrine sputtered.

"Right. Well, the Doctor will explain it better. If we can get back to him." She made her way toward the console. "You stay there." she commanded "We can't just go popping off again." She peered at the controls. "Well, you have your coordinates here... stabalizers... Not too different from my manipulator, actually. It's bound to be a bit bumpy, though." With that, she pulled the lever and off they went, leaving the Naronic and its confused crew behind.

They rushed out of the doors just in time to see the a Sontaran aiming a very large and very menacing gun at the Doctor, who was even further confused by the appearance of his ship.

"What are you doing here?"

Lisa ran to the Doctor, aiming her 'water gun' at the Sontaran.

"No time. Naronic's in the future. Gotta get back!" Kathrine's choppy speech came out while she took advantage of the distracted Sontaran to undo the Doctor's binds.

The trio somehow managed to run back into the TARDIS just before the Sontaran soldier fired his weapon. Apparently, the thing took a decent amount of time to charge.

"Come on, come on!" Kathrine practically threw the Doctor toward the controls. "We have to get back! There's no way this won't create some kind of paradox."

"Well, actually," the Doctor shrugged "it won't. I mean, not really. They'll adapt to the shock soon enough. That's what humans are best at; adapting. Even when the atmosphere disappears in the 405th century. Anyway, what we _do_ need to worry about is this fully-armed Sontaran ship hovering over the ocean." With that, he opened the TARDIS door yet again, only to be yet again staring down the barrel of a gun.

"What have you done with the primitive vessel?" the Sontaran holding said gun demanded.

"Actually, it was my friends that did that. You'd have to ask them. Not that I'll let you." He whipped out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the weapon. "There. Completely useless now. Might as well drop it; you're arms will get tired."

The Sontaran glared at the man. "You will return the Rutan allies at once!"

The Doctor sighed "There's really no reasoning with this lot. Look, the people on that ship have just as little a clue what's going on as you do. And, if you'd bothered to scan it, you'd notice that it is entirely unarmed. It's just a human cargo ship."

"Do not think that you can deceive us, boy!"

"That's it. No more. I will not stand idly by while you threaten the people of this planet. Bring in your commander."

An identical Sontaran was brought to the Doctor.

"Now listen, you." the Doctor growled before the Commander had even gotten a chance to speak. "There are billions of innocent lives down there- lives that I'd very much like to protect. And before you go on another mindless rampage like you always do, remember this; I have defeated your kind before, and some far more deadly than you. I have seen the life of this planet from beginning to end and I swear to you, I will go to _any_ length to keep you from destroying it." He leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. "This planet it off-limits and _it is protected._ I'm the Doctor. Maybe you've heard of me."

"A Sontaran never backs away from a battle." the Commander stubbornly decreed.

A low chuckle escaped the Doctor's lips. "Trust me, there is not battle here. The word 'battle' makes it sound like you have a chance for success."

The Commander glared in silence for a moment, before turning to his crew. "We will continue with our previous scouting mission as planned. There are no signs of the Rutan Host on this planet. We will move on to the next."

"Thank you. " The Doctor smiled, disappearing into the TARDIS.


	8. Human Nature

**Soooo, I've noticed a great deal of typos and such in my previous chapters. Perhaps I'll amend them if I get bored, but for now I can only promise to try not to do so again.**

**MUY IMPORTANTE NOTE OF IMPORTANTNESS: I'm in want of your opinion as to what the Doctor's and Kathrine's relationship should develop into. Please be a dear and place a vote on my poll. If you can't find the poll, a comment or PM with your vote will do.**

Kathrine awoke in her modest bedroom on board the TARDIS. She stretched, arching her back as she lifted herself off of the bed. This would mark her third week traveling with the Doctor, and yet, she still found it hard to adjust. After Lisa left to get back to her work, she'd felt just a bit awkward around the Doctor. Was it alright for her to be traveling alone with this man; especially considering what she was, and how her presence affected his machine?

From what Kathrine could tell, the Doctor seemed human enough. Kathrine gave herself a disparaging glare in the mirror. What was she, then? Black eyes, with a thin rim of white where a normal, _human_, iris ought to be, stared back at her. She looked like some mockery of human existence, thrown together by someone who'd only had a fleeting glance in the dark.

There was a knock at her door. "Alright, we've landed. You're safe to come out now." the Doctor's bright voice rang out. It wasn't safe to fly the TARDIS with Kathrine in the control room. She had a habit of accidentally taking them where they didn't need to be (which, honestly, usually happened anyway). "You're gonna love this place! Living, talking trees, Kathrine. And I promise you the locals are friendly, not like the last planet." He winced, recalling the lovely smattering of bruises he'd earned on that trip.

The door opened and the Doctor frowned. "No, no, no. No. I specifically said 'no perception filters unless we're on Earth.' go change." He flicked his sonic screwdriver out and disabled her perception filter.

Kathrine crossed her arms and stared defiantly at the man. "As if it's totally normal for two completely different species to be traveling across the stars together. Need I remind you what happened last week?"

"That was a primitive planet- they'd barely left their own solar system! Of course they weren't receptive to inter-species-"

"We were nearly killed!" she clenched her fists "I don't need to be traveling around like... like this!" She gestured towards herself. "Apparently, my species won't _ever_ leave their solar system. And, frankly, I wouldn't care if they did. Not like they wanted me, anyway."

"Kathrine, you're being here, being exactly who and what you are, is completely marvelous!" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Please, don't degrade yourself like this."

With all the force she could muster, Kathrine pushed the Doctor away. "I just want to be human! I want to be Kathrine Miller; average college student, with her friends and her books and her _normal_ _life_." Her eyes welled up. She spared a moment to wonder why she still produced tears. She tried to blink away the dampness in her eyes.

A completely different TARDIS faded into her blurry gaze.

"See, I am he, and he is me." a graying man in a ruffled shirt and bow tie explained.

"And we are all together, cucoo cachoo cucoo cachoo." replied a blond in a short blue dress.

Suddenly, the third person on board- one wearing yet another bow tie with a head of dark hair- turned to Kathrine. "Pardon me, miss, but who in the blazes are you?"

Kathrine's eyes widened, her previous strife forgotten for the moment. "What?"

**That's all for now, folks! I can't get much further until the poll results come in. So vote! I only want to write what you guys want to read, so it's important to get your input.**


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